Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Hiroshi Ono

Jyunji Maeda

Takato Mori

Kunihiro Amano

An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a sheet cassette attachable to the main body and configured to support one or more sheets to be supplied to the image forming unit, and a controller. The main body includes an electrode movable relative to the main body, a capacitance detector configured to output a signal indicating a value corresponding to a quantity of electricity stored in the electrode, and a wire. The sheet cassette includes a metal member, and a sheet supporting plate made of metal, movable relative to the sheet cassette in an up-down direction, and configured to support one or more sheets from below. The controller is configured to determine whether the sheet cassette is at an installation position in the main body from a level of the value of the signal outputted from the capacitance detector connected to the electrode via the wire.

Image forming apparatus

An optical scanning device includes a controller, and a scanning unit connected with the controller via a signal line. The scanning unit includes a semiconductor laser having light emitting elements, an optical system configured to convert light emitted by each light emitting element into a beam, a deflector configured to deflect the beam received through the optical system, and a shift register including a plurality of output terminals each configured to output a light emission signal for controlling light emission from a corresponding one of the light emitting elements, and an input terminal configured to receive a shift signal from the controller via the signal line. The shift register is configured to, each time receiving the shift signal via the input terminal, shift a specific output terminal to output the light emission signal from one output terminal to another in sequence among the plurality of output terminals.

Optical scanning device, laser diode driver and image forming apparatus having shift register to receive a shift signal

A communication apparatus including: a requiring section which transmits a requirement for establishing a state in which and the communication apparatus and a first communication apparatus are communicable with each other via an internet line, to the first communication apparatus via the internet line; a communication establishing section which establishes the state; a calling section which transmits a dial signal to an exchanger via the telephone line and calls a to-be-called apparatus, when the communication establishing section has established the state; a notifying section which transmits a notification about calling of the communication apparatus, to the first communication apparatus via the internet line after the calling section has called; a receiving section which receives an acknowledgment signal transmitted via the internet line from the first communication apparatus having received the notification; and a communication controlling section which controls the communication with the to-be-called apparatus via the telephone line.

Communication apparatus

An improper connection determination method includes a closed circuit forming step, a current detection step and a determination step. In the closed circuit forming step, a closed circuit from one of at least two contacts in a telephone connection terminal of a communication apparatus to another one of the at least two contacts in the telephone connection terminal is formed. In the current detection step, a current flowing in the closed circuit, when the closed circuit is formed in the closed circuit forming step, is detected. In the determination step, it is determined that the telephone line is improperly connected to the telephone connection terminal when the current is detected in the current detection step.

Growing community of inventors

Konan, Japan

Hiroshi Ono